Conclusion
This may have been our last full-family DLR trip with all my kids living at home. If so, we went out with a bang! Despite stress over getting ADRs, learning how to use
Genie+, and the weirdness of ILL$, and my own high expectations, all that planning and preparation definitely made this trip as smooth as possible. Of course we had some hiccups with all the personalities involved, and of course I wasn’t perfect - missing a couple of opportunities and stressing out DH on the last day, but overall it was practically perfect and I really did feel as magical as Mary Poppins! I think we maximized our time, and made good use of G+ and ILL$ to minimize downtime, but also still allowed ourselves time to just enjoy the atmosphere, take lots of pictures, and devour delicious treats.
Our dining packages were worth it, with the WoC Dessert Party the best of the bunch. The character meals were fantastic, but perhaps 3 was a little too much fun, and we did miss Surf’s Up with Donald. Characters were out and about across both parks, and we loved all the little moments and photo ops they presented. Taking afternoon breaks was new to us, but it rejuvenated the family and made evenings much more pleasant. I wish the kids would have napped more than swam, and I wish the rental house was closer at the end of the night, but it was a good location and the perfect space for us this trip.
Obviously the gut wrenching change with my friend’s health started the trip under a cloud, but with her stunning recovery it quickly switched the sadness to joy at knowing she was going to be ok, and that her family would get to experience Disney themselves sometime soon. It also meant the fun of helping them plan - even if I can’t pull off a budget or schedule for my family to join them, I know I’ll be their primary planner!
Activity Summary
Here are a couple breakdowns of the attractions we experienced each day in the park; if I included the specialty snack breaks it would be even more impressive.
Breakdown by Time of Day:
As you will see, mornings and nights are the most productive. We did take afternoon breaks, but even without the break, afternoon would be least productive based on the return times and standby waits I was monitoring in the app:
- Day 1 DL: 6-7 attractions in the morning before Minnie Breakfast at Plaza Inn; 1 in the afternoon + a break; 4 in the evening + Encanto projections & MSEP; 3 in the night.
- Day 2 DCA: 12 before lunch + Mrs Incredible & Avengers show; 5 in the afternoon; 1 in the evening + WoC Dessert Party
- Day 3 DL: 5 in the morning + 2 princess meet & greets; 1 in the afternoon + break; 1 in the evening + Fantasmic, 5 in the night plus lots of photos
- Day 4 DCA start: 2-3 + Mickey & Elsa before lunch; 2 in the afternoon + break; Goofy’s Kitchen Dinner, and 4 afterwards with lots of photo ops in the evening
- Day 5 DL start: 3 + droid depot and 2 meet & greets before lunch; 4 in the afternoon between DL & DCA, 1 in the evening at DCA, and 6 at night at DL + fireworks
Breakdown by Day
Despite having hoppers and my intention of hopping each day, we ultimately only hopped on our last day. Our daily attraction count is highest on days we arrived early and on our final day when we did hop, and lowest on days when characters were the priority. I’ve listed total LL and ILL$ for each day as well, to help give a sense of their value in our plans:
Day 1: 20 attractions/character meets (6 LL/MEP):
- Tea Cups/Mad Tea Party
- Alice in Wonderland
- Dumbo
- Snow White [3 of us]
- Matterhorn LL [5]/Carousel [2]
- Tea Cups
- Sword in the Stone
- Minnie Breakfast
- Winnie the Pooh
- Pooh Corner
- Failed Splash LL attempt
- Afternoon break
- Monorail
- Star Tours LL
- Hyperspace Mtn LL
- Buzz Lightyear LL
- Encanto projections
- MSEP
- Its a small world
- BTMRR MEP
- BTMRR LL
Day 2: 22 attractions/characters/show (4 LL):
- Little Mermaid
- Zephyr
- Jellyfish
- Goofy’s Flight School x2
- Silly Symphony Swings
- Pixar Pal-Around
- Emotional Whirlwind
- Toy Story Midway Mania LL
- Carousel
- Mrs. Incredible
- Ancient Sanctum
- Avengers Show (Black Widow & Black Panther)
- GotG LL
- Nick Wilde
- Grizzly River Rapids LL
- Turtle Talk with Crush
- PhilharMagic
- Soarin LL
- Redwood Challenge Trail
- Raya
- WoC Dessert Party
Day 3: 17 attractions/characters/shows (4 LL):
- Storybook Land Canal Boats
- Matterhorn LL
- Pinocchio
- Mr. Toad
- Castle Walk through
- Princess Faire (Ariel & Cinderella)
- Canoe Boats
- Afternoon break
- MFSR LL
- Fantasmic!
- Disneyland Forever fireworks
- BTMRR standby
- BTMRR LL
- Star Tours
- Buzz LL
- Buzz standby x2
Day 4: 12-13 attractions/characters (4 LL, 1 ILL$):
- Incredicoaster standby [2]/Silly Symphony Swings [2] x2
- GFS LL
- Mickey Mouse
- Elsa
- Incredicoaster LL [5]/Carousel [2]
- GRR LL
- Goofy’s Kitchen Dinner
- Luigi’s
- Mater’s
- Web Slingers ILL$
- GotG LL [4], Soarin LL [2]
Day 5: 21 attractions/experiences/shows/characters (4 LL, 2 ILL$):
- MFSR standby
- R2-D2
- Droid Depot
- RotR ILL$
- Tiana
- Mark Twain
- Splash
- Mr. Lincoln
- RSR ILL$
- GotG LL
- Black Panther
- Soarin LL
- Black Widow
- Spiderman
- Astro Orbiter
- Disneyland Forever fireworks
- BTMRR standby
- BTMRR LL
- Star Tours standby (LL unnecessary)
- Hyperspace Mtn LL
- Buzz standby
Final Thoughts
We accomplished all our priorities and left the parks satisfied. I felt 5 days was a great amount of time, with the downtime built in. We didn’t have a perfectly optimized schedule, but it worked well. That said, I could have spent another 5 days! My family was done, but I could keep going - which led me to more seriously consider something I’d read about on the forums: getting an AP/MK for myself, and taking each kid independently. It is a completely different budget to do a trip for 2-3 of us instead of all 7, and I just might be able to swing it. I eagerly await the return of AP/MKs to see if it is in fact feasible!
For those considering a trip, or anxious about an upcoming visit, rest assured: the magic is there. Things are different, and those who had mastered MaxPass will feel the changes the most, but the magic is still very real, and very present. Just like the before-times, experiences vary and sometimes you run into grumpy guests and inexperienced CMs who might be having a rough day, so as always pack your patience and try to avoid being that grumpy guest! Plan on spreading some of your own pixie dust and open yourself up for the magic
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